The Direct Debit Guaruntee

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Justin Sidebottom

Dear The Financial Conduct Authority,

Below is the statement given concerning the Direct Debit Guarantee that all Banks offer to customers.

Taken from the below URL
https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebi...

Direct Debit Guarantee
Your rights
Organisations using the Direct Debit Scheme go through a careful vetting process before they're authorised, and are closely monitored by the banking industry. The efficiency and security of Direct Debit is monitored and protected by your own bank or building society.
The Direct Debit Guarantee applies to all Direct Debits. It protects you in the rare event that there is an error in the payment of your Direct Debit. The Guarantee covers Direct Debit payments. It cannot be used to address contractual disputes between you and the billing organisation.​
Direct Debit Guarantee
The Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits
If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request
If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society
If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to
You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify the organisation.

I would like to point out that this Guarantee is either no longer in force or is being abused by the UK Banking system.

Bank staff are now asking customers the reasons why they wish to use the indemnity, this information is not required and is not stipulated on the guarantee.

"If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society
If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to"

My question to you is:

1. Do bank customers who use direct debits have to divulge ANY other information to the bank staff regarding what is incorrect other than it is incorrect?
QUOTE
"If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society
If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to"

If the answer to this is YES you have to divulge more information than what is quoted on the guarantee then the guarantee in itself is no longer valid.

If the answer is NO then the UK banks are acting illegally.

Yours faithfully,

Justin Sidebottom

The Financial Conduct Authority

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This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment Systems Regulator Limited)

Customer Contact Centre, The Financial Conduct Authority

Dear Mr Sidebottom,

Thank you for contacting the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and for
raising your concerns to us. Please accept my apologies for the delay in
replying to you.

I understand you submitted a request to our Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) team regarding the Direct Debt Guarantee. The FOIA team have
reviewed your request and asked us at the consumer contact centre to reply
to under routine correspondence, as we’re able to handle your query.

Please note while I can reply to your query, I’m unable to confirm if the
conduct of a bank is illegal. If you would like independent legal guidance
you will need to speak to your local [1]Citizens Advice Bureau where you
can be directed to a solicitor.

Your query
I have reviewed your query and understand you seek clarification regarding
incorrect payments made using this service. In particular, you would like
to know…
“Do bank customers who use direct debits have to divulge ANY other
information to the bank staff regarding what is incorrect than it is
incorrect?”

We don’t have any rules on this topic
As the regulator for Financial Services in the UK, we’re responsible for
the supervision and the conduct of the firms we authorise. However, we
don’t have any rules regarding what information, if any, is required for a
consumer to qualify for this service.

Contacting the Direct Debt Guarantee Scheme
The best way to establish what are the banks’ requirements under this
scheme, is to contact the Direct Debt Guarantee scheme directly.
Information on how to contact them can be found [2]in this link.

Lodging a formal complaint
If you’re not happy with how a bank has handled a request for a refund,
you’re within your right to lodge a formal complaint.

As the Regulator, we’re interested in the conduct of the firms we
regulate, however we’re unable to take on individual cases as we don’t
have dispute resolution powers. This is remit of another organisation
called the Financial Ombudsman Service.

When you lodge a formal complaint to a firm, they have a maximum of 8
weeks to respond to you. If you receive a response within this timeframe
and you’re not happy with it, the Financial Ombudsman Service may review
your matter and decide on how it should be finalised. More information on
how to complain can be found [3]in this link.

I appreciate this isn’t the answer you were looking for, however if you do
have any other queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me again quoting
your case reference 205413441.

Yours sincerely
Rohan Sudial
Customer Contact Centre
Financial Conduct Authority
Consumer Helpline: 0800 111 6768
[4]www.fca.org.uk/pages/consumerinformation
 

ref:_00Db0K8yP._5000X1VdiQn:ref
This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 25 The North
Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 25 The North
Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
1. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
2. https://www.directdebit.co.uk/Resources/...
3. https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/how-com...
4. http://www.fca.org.uk/pages/consumerinfo...